Little Moments
by ElisaCollette
Summary: After the angst and drama of Try Again Tomorrow and the accompanying stories, this is just a set a one-shot stories from the same universe. Join Violet, Lily, Coral, and Scarlet as they grown up in the shadows and sunlight of Jade, Beck, Freddie, Tori, Cat, and others. Story Five - Violet breaks curfew. Story Six - she brings a boy home for dinner.
1. Hollywood Arts, Take Two

Short, sweet, and fluffy. I hope you enjoy! Please review if you do - I have a few more to add - and hopefully more if inspiration continues to strike.

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Little Moments

Story One – Hollywood Arts, Take 2

Violet was so excited, she was practically humming with energy. Lily was more on the terrified side of things. Violet skipped to the front door of Hollywood Arts, far in front of her parents. Lily held Tori's hand and when they got within a few feet, grabbed for Freddie's as well. It was Lane who met them in the front hallway. He welcomed them with a hug for Tori, a wary look for Jade, and a bright smile for each girl. There were kids and parents lining the hall in front of the theater, waiting to audition.

"So, this is the new and improved Ms. West?" A familiar voice asked, walking excitedly over to them, a coconut in his hand. Violet smiled excitedly.

"You're lucky she's improved," Jade told him. "She received some of her father's personality."

Beck shook his head. "She's mostly like Jade."

"So, you're both evil and talented?" Sykowitz asked, then laughed maniacally. Jade shook her head and introduced their old acting teacher to Violet, Lily, and Freddie. When he approached to look at Lily, the small girl hid behind her mother and he laughed again. "You can't charm them all."

Lane gave them a tour of the school, along with three other families. Violet stopped in front of the library and peered at a large picture. "That's mom and dad and Aunt Kitty and - everyone!" Lily stepped out from behind Tori long enough to join Violet and look over the picture - it was a picture taken during rehearsals for Guys and Dolls. Jade and Tori had been costumed - no one else had been.

"I think you'll find pictures of your parents in regular intervals around the school," Lane promised. They continued the tour - this time Lily grasped Violet's hand instead of her mother's.

Once they reached the main hallway once more, the line for auditions had withered. Lane looked at his watch. "We are about five minutes out from Violet's audition - shall we go in?" Violet ran excitedly into the blackbox theater and Jade tried to follow.

"No parents," Lane said, holding up an arm to block her.

"Excuse me?" Jade asked, frightening the other parents with her tone. Beck tried to pull her away but Lane smiled and whispered in her ear. "You know where the lighting booth is." Jade turned on her heel and Beck followed her. Tori knelt next to Lily, who was standing uncertainly in the doorway.

"You don't have to do this unless you want to," Tori told her softly.

"I don't think I can," Lily answered.

"That's okay," Tori promised, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "We can wait outside - "

"Actually," Lane interrupted, from his place standing above Tori, "Lily - would you like to watch Violet? I said no parents - cousins are welcome." He had been informed of the familial status to which the girls adhered. Lily looked at her mother and then looked up at Lane and nodded. She followed him into the blackbox theater and he closed the door.

"She worked so hard," Tori told Freddie. "I don't care if she wants to go to another school - but I just don't want her to regret this."

"She can only do what she's ready for," Freddie reminded her, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"If she's in there, we might as well sneak upstairs and watch Violet." When they arrived on the catwalk, Jade and Beck already had their seats, their legs dangling from the scaffolding. Tori sat between her high school frenemy and her husband. It only took a few moments before Lane invited Violet onto the stage. The little girl ran up the few stairs to the stage and handed her music to the piano player.

"You can start whenever you're ready, Miss Oliver," Lane said, after he had introduced the three other teachers and the school's principal. Violet thanked him and nodded to the piano player. Within seconds, she was dancing and belting "That's How You Know" from _Enchanted_. It was quickly followed by a rousing - and completely comical - rendition of "My Philosophy" from _You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown_. She didn't skip a beat, didn't miss a note, and held more power in her voice than the teachers had heard in years. Jade and Beck were bursting with pride. Neither of them could speak. Jade did a poor job of hiding the tears that kept creeping into her eyes.

Lane thanked Violet and she curtsied with what Tori could only describe as a devilish grin - and left the stage. Shuffling their papers, one of the teachers they didn't know called Lily's name. Lane tried to explain that she wasn't auditioning, but before he could - she was at the bottom step to the stage. Jade could just make out Violet motioning to her from across the room and quickly pointed it out to the rest.

"I should go down there -" Tori said, starting to stand. Jade grabbed her wrist.

"Give her a minute."

She had no music with her, and when the pianist asked for it, she looked startled. Violet ran from the side and shoved a folder at him quickly, then disappeared again from sight. Lily walked over to the man and said something to him quietly. He nodded and stood, leaving the piano. She climbed onto the piano bench and tentatively reached her feet for the pedals. Finding them, she kicked off her shoes. Tori almost laughed; it was something she had been doing since Jade had taught her to use the pedals while playing.

She sang softly at first, but quickly picked up volume. Her first chosen song was "Someone's Waiting for You," from the _Rescuers_. Not a dry eye remained in the house, but Tori knew she had made a few mistakes. It was her nerves, not her ability, but it was still something she needed to make up for. But she was supposed to play her second song - and she clearly wasn't planning on that.

"Shit," Jade said softly. "She can't finish there." Lily was standing from the piano. While all four adults cringed, knowing that it was beautiful, and lovely - and not quite enough - the pianist came back and sat down - and began to play a second song. It was "Notice Me Horton" from _Seussical: The Musical_.

"She never practiced that," Tori said in horror. It didn't matter - it was flawless - and adorable - and might have topped Violet's comedy with "My Philosophy". Lane thanked Lily and she was off like a shot, across the room and out of view - to where Violet had gone.

"We have to get down there," Jade said quickly. They scrambled for the stairs and reached the entrance to the Blackbox Theater just in time to be the last parents to congratulate their children.

"Where did you go?" Violet demanded.

"We'll tell you later," Jade said quickly. The next batch of parents were waiting in the hallway - she didn't want to give away the catwalk location - some things were better kept among alumni. Tori was hugging Lily.

"I did it," Lily said softly.

"I know," Tori answered with a bright smile. "You were amazing." She hugged her daughter tightly, ignoring Lily's brief squeak of discomfort.

"Come on," Beck said finally. "I think we have reservations for lunch or something, right?" He started walking backwards, motioning for his family to follow him. "Let's move it!"

"Wait one minute, Beckett." It was Sikowitz.

"My name's not Beckett," he said.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, I got you to stop, didn't I?" He waved an envelope in front of them excitedly and Jade tried to shake her head; she did not want admittance news that day - she told Lane they would wait for the letters like everyone else - especially because she feared that both girls wouldn't get in. They had to find their own way to break the news if that happened.

"I just couldn't wait to give you these," he said, splaying what was in his hand to show them two envelopes. "Welcome, my lovely ladies, to Hollywood Arts." He handed an envelope - one to each child. Violet laughed happily and hugged Lily, who was still processing the information with a look of complete bewilderment.


	2. Identity

Story Two – Identity

Lily had just turned eleven nine-year-old Violet began asking questions - and Jade and Tori knew they were out of time with their secret keeping. Both girls had matriculated into the sixth grade together at Hollywood Arts - and people were mistaking the two little girls for sisters constantly. Tori received a phone call from Lane, giving her the heads-up that teachers and parents were talking. He never asked specific questions, but he remembered what Jade had looked like as a young teen - and Lily was growing up to look very much like her older half-sister.

Violet, curious as always, had been collecting information for quite a long time before confronting her mother. Jade was in the living room, blank and half-filled sheet music spread in front of her, working through a new song. Beck was putting the other girls to bed and Violet was supposed to be reading, but instead she was sneaking up on her mother.

"Mom?" Jade jumped, having been completely caught up in her work. When she realized it was Violet, she closed her eyes for a moment and collected herself. Dropping her pencil on top of the music shelf, she turned to face the young girl.

"What's up, Vi? I thought you were upstairs."

"I was," Violet answered. "I was reading my history assignment. It's about China."

"Interesting?"

"Not really," Violet answered, her voice neutral. "I mean, who doesn't know the basic geography and culture of China? It's repetitive. We learned most of this in third grade."

"The answer to your question," Jade responded, fighting a smile, "is most people. Most people don't know that information – and most people don't remember things after hearing them only one time."

"That would be annoying," Violet answered.

"It is," Jade assured her. She was intelligent, but she had nowhere near the spectacular eidetic memory that Violet possessed. "What's up, Violet? I'm assuming you don't want to pick my brain about the geography and culture of China."

"No," Violet answered seriously. "In history class today, Marissa asked me if Lily and I were twins."

"You guys looks alike," Jade allowed. She tried to seem disinterested in the topic. "But I certainly wouldn't say twins."

"Lily was adopted, right?"

"She was," Jade answered. "You know that. But it's not something you share with strangers. That's her choice – who she wants to tell."

"I wouldn't do that," Violet answered. "So, Lily's not related to us?"

Jade tried to hide her nerves by instead appearing annoyed. She rubbed her right temple; a headache was forming behind her eyes. "Violet, that's enough questions for one night. You know Lily was adopted. End of story. Go and get ready for bed." The tiny brunette didn't argue; she could hear the tension in Jade's voice. She knew when not to push her mother. But she also realized that she had hit a nerve. And Jade saw her realization as it happened. "Upstairs," she said sternly. Violet disappeared and Jade turned back to the piano, resting her face in her hands.

That night, after all of the kids were sleeping, she and Beck left Cat in charge and walked through the backyard to tell Tori of Violet's questions.

"I thought we'd have more time," Tori said softly, after Jade explained the exchange. Tori had shared with her the call from Lane.

"Me too," Jade answered. "Wishful thinking."

"What are we going to tell them?"

"What we tell Lily is the truth – what we tell Violet is up to Lily," Jade answered simply.

"This isn't fair," Tori said angrily, standing up and pacing the kitchen. "She already had to go through all that crap for the first seven years of her life – she shouldn't have to revisit it."

Jade looked at Tori, her eyes full of sympathy. "Tori, I'm sure she thinks about it a lot more than you realize. She'll be fine. Do you want to talk to her? I can, if you prefer. I knew Camilla first hand – I might be more helpful in this situation."

Tori nodded. "Just be careful," she said softly.

If Lily thought it was strange that Jade invited her - and only her - to go with her on a trip to the park a few days later, she said nothing about it. They walked the trails and Lily picked wildflowers - she was still fascinated by the things.

Eventually, they came to a set of swings and Jade sat on one of them, waiting for Lily to join her on the other. "Lily, do you remember anything from before you lived with Tori?" The pre-teen nodded but said nothing. Jade was used to this; the little girl chose her words carefully. "What do you remember?"

"Too much."

"You remember Cam-"

"Don't," the little girl interrupted quickly, sharply. Her voice was never anything but soft; this tone was new.

"Okay," Jade allowed. "But you do know who I am?"

Lily looked at her like she was crazy. "Of course I do."

"In relation to you?"

"You are my aunt - because my mom adopted me and you two are very close. Biologically, you are my sister."

"You remember," Jade said softly.

"I was scared when you found me - not dumb," Lily responded. Jade stifled a laugh. She smiled with amusement at her half-sister. The child had gone through hell and somehow, had retained a sense of humor.

Jade picked up her feet and allowed herself to swing softly in the breeze, then placed her boots back in the dirt to stabilize herself. "People are starting to notice how much you look like Violet - and like me."

"I know," Lily said softly. She heard what the other kids said - the teachers. She had been asked multiple times that year how far apart she and Violet were. Since Violet had gotten taller quicker and they were now about the same size, some even mistook them for twins. "I don't want people to know what happened."

"They don't have to. It's not anyone's business," Jade assured her. "But we have to tell Violet something about how you're related. She's already started asking questions."

"Just don't tell her what they did," Lily responded. Violet was an extremely good secret keeper, but some secrets were too horrific to share with even your best friend.

Jade stood from her swing and knelt on the ground in front of Lily's. "You didn't do anything wrong. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"You know that's not true," Lily answered, "it's all embarrassing and shameful. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so bad." Jade bit her lip and sighed. She shook her head slightly.

"It still wasn't your fault. And you shouldn't feel ashamed. You didn't do anything wrong – they did. They should be ashamed."

"What are you going to tell Violet?" Lily asked, completely backing away from the subject.

"I will tell her that you were born to someone on my side of the family who was not able to take care of you – so we brought you home – and Tori fell in love and decided to adopt you."

"What is she asks more questions?"

"Violet knows when to stop," Jade assured her. "And if she bothers you about it, let me know – I'll take care of it." She was quote for a moment. She sat back on her heels and looked up at Lily, their eyes meeting. "Do you want to talk about what happened with Camilla and John?"

"No," Lily answered quickly, her tone of voice and expression insinuating that Jade was insane to think that such a thing was a possibility.

"Okay," Jade answered, smiling gently. "But I'm here if you change your mind." The rest of the trip was quiet and just before reaching home, they fell into an easy conversation about school and music. The past was not going to take over their present.

"Why did she hate me so much?" Lily asked, sneaking up on Jade one morning, almost six weeks later. The gate was open – the child had come over from her own home. The older woman was sitting on the back deck, working diligently on a screen play. She looked up at Lily in surprise as her lips pursed. Closing the lid to her laptop, she patted the chair next to her, inviting Lily to sit.

"What she did – it had nothing to do with you," Jade told her. "She hated herself – and you reminded her of all the good she could have been."

"Why did she have to be that way? I didn't do anything wrong." Her voice was straining; she was fighting tears.

"I don't know," Jade answered honestly. "I wish I had a better answer for you. But the sad truth is that some people are bad people. And sometimes bad things happen to good people. And bad people get away with bad things."

"That really sucks."

"Agreed," Jade responded. She pulled her arms around Lily and held her close. They sat in silence for a long time before the woman spoke again. "You are a beautiful, kind, intelligent person. Don't let those monsters take another minute from you. They are not worth it. You are so much better than they ever could have been."

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These stories are going to be in no particular order - they are just moments in time. Let me know if you had any specific lines or parts you liked. I have a few other scenes written, but if you have ideas for other snipets, feel free to share! I can't promise anything - but they may inspire me :-)


	3. The Dog

I think I mentioned this before - but just to be clear - these stories are one-shots and jump around chronologically. Please enjoy - and let me know what you think!

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Little Moments - Story Three – The Dog

"I don't want a dog," Jade said through gritted teeth. She was following Beck through the door to the pound. He was taking her to look at dogs. Big-eyed, shaggy haired dogs.

"The girls do," he responded. "And they really don't ask for a lot."

"That's because we give them everything they could possibly want," Jade told him emphatically, "what's left to ask for?" Despite her negativity, she continued following him begrudgingly. The person working at the desk asked them what they were looking for, introduced herself, and led them into a depressing room full of cages, each cage holding at least one dog.

"I think they make these places purposefully depressing so you can't leave without taking them all with you," Jade told him.

"I think it's depressing because they're innocent, living creatures who don't have homes."

"They could spruce it up a little," Jade grumbled. She looked at the dogs as they walked by and each was more heartbreaking than the last. It was good that Beck had decided not to bring their daughters – or Cat. Either choice would have been catastrophic.

Beck pointed to the ones he liked and Jade shook her head for one reason or another. They were too big, too slobbery, barked too much, or cried too much. She could barely glance at the ones with black fur. Finally, he landed at a cage that held a small dog with brownish red and white fur and floppy ears. When Jade didn't immediately say no, Beck asked the volunteer if they could meet it.

"She's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel," the woman said, opening the cage and picking up the dog.

"That means nothing to me," Jade responded in a single, dry tone.

"They're good family dogs," the woman answered. "Gentle, playful, but not too big – "

"Does she have a name?" Beck asked. He reached over to scratch the dog's head.

"If she does, we don't know it," the woman answered. She led Jade and Beck into a small playroom and put the dog down on the floor. Beck immediately sat on the floor and the dog happily climbed into his lap, licking his hands and allowing him to pet her. Jade knelt beside him and the dog immediately abandoned him for Jade. Despite the fact that she had no interest in touching the ball of fur, the dog was intrigued by her, sniffing her and rubbing against her legs, eventually curling up on top of her right boot with a heavy sigh.

"I like these boots," Jade told him.

"She's not hurting them," Beck told her. "But you are doing to hurt her if you fall over – which you just might if you don't either sit or stand." Jade stood up completely and the dog got up too, watching her with big black eyes. Hand on Beck's shoulder, Jade lowered herself to the floor, crossing her legs. The dog immediately jumped onto her lap, haphazardly circling three times before plopping down again. "She likes you."

"So do millions of people who listen to my music. Does that mean we should bring them all home with us?"

Beck sighed and looked straight at her, their eyes meeting. "It's up to you. We can forget about the dog, if you want. Or we can take her home. I'm not going to force you to get a dog."

"I had a dog once," Jade told him.

"I know," he answered. "I know what happened – but that's not going to happen again."

"I told you?"

"You were high on morphine after that incident with Scarlet and the stairs – but yeah, you told me."

"Huh," Jade said, sitting back against him. "I'm afraid." The words were whispered toward his ear, almost inaudible.

"I know," Beck answered. "But it never stopped you before. And it would make the girls so happy."

"Fine," Jade said with a sigh. "You can take her home – but if she poops on my carpet, she's out." Beck laughed. Through the years, Jade had dealt with far worse than a dog pooping on her carpet with an extremely large amount of grace. Her husband of many years was not worried about the future of an affectionate little dog.

Beck kissed her and then lifted the dog from her lap before standing and helping her to her feet. He carried the dog to the front of the room and after filling out the appropriate paperwork and signing a check, the dog was theirs.

"They should be a little more careful," Jade told him as they walked to the car. "You'd think they'd run background checks or something. What if we were going to eat this thing for dinner?"

"That's truly disturbing," Beck said sternly. "Have you been writing horror scripts again?" She made a face at him but didn't answer. They made another stop at a local pet store and when they arrived home, found that the entire family was gathered on the back porch. Tori and Freddie were making dinner – it was a night they had decided to grill. Violet and Lily sat in the grass, carefully studying a book they held between them. Jade could see that one of their cordless keyboards was on the ground in front of them. A blank composition book was balanced on Violet's knee. Scarlet and Coral were playing on the swing set, supervised and engaged by Cat and Gibby.

Carly, Sam, and Andre had already broken out the beer and wine. Carly hadn't touched her glass of Sangria. She was focused intently on baby Max, her almost-brand-new godson.

Beck and Jade were barely noticed as they stepped out of the car. A twinkling in his eyes, Beck opened the gate that led from the upper driveway to the backyard and set the puppy inside. He let Jade in and closed it again, taking her hand and walking casually up the stairs to where Tori was setting the large picnic tables that had been pushed together and Freddie was grilling.

"What happened?" Tori asked, not wanting to mention the words if it hadn't been what Beck had hoped would be a successful venture. Jade simply cocked her eyebrow and nodded to the little creature who was making her way across the yard to a completely oblivious Lily and Violet.

It only took another twenty seconds before Violet laughed in delight and took the puppy into her arms. Seeing the excitement, the other girls ran over and before long, the puppy had four young girls – and one very enthusiastic redhead – to fawn over it. Eventually, Violet tore herself away and walked to the deck, looking up at her parents.

"Do we get to keep her?"

"Do we really seem that cruel?" Jade asked, looking at Beck for the answer. "Would we really bring a dog home and take it away?" Violet laughed at her mother's method of answering and ran up the stairs to hug them both.

"Thank you!" she said happily. "She's wonderful!" She hugged Jade second. "Are you sure it's okay?" She asked softly. "I know you don't like dogs."

"I think I'll like this one," Jade assured her in a soft voice. She returned to her normal tone. "It's fine. But you, my love, are cleaning up any messes she makes."

"Not a problem!" Violet answered, pulling away from her mother and running back to the puppy, who was now being chased around the yard by Coral and Scarlet.

Jade walked over to the table and took the glass sitting at her spot. It had already been filled with Sangria. It was cold to the touch. She sighed happily and sipped at it. Andre laughed and raised his beer to her. "So, who wants to start a poll – how long will it take Jade to get rid of that little dog?"

"Shut it," she told him simply before taking a longer drink.

Several days later, Jade sat at her piano bench, staring into the large black eyes. "I can see you're enjoying yourself here. So, let's make a deal. We've already covered rule one - I won't throw you out as long as you don't poop in my house. Rule two - never scratch my piano."

"Mom?" Violet was standing next to her, crouching down a bit so their heads were level. She was almost as tall as Jade and her hair was longer, swept back loosely on the sides into two braids that met in the back.

"Yeah?"

"Dad says you really shouldn't threaten the dog."

"It's our thing," Jade responded. She turned her eyes back to the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel sitting on top of her piano. "Right, Tink?" The dog titled her head, looking at Jade sideways. The songstress sighed and started playing. The dog didn't move, but Violet did, going into the kitchen to find a snack. Beck was already there, making himself a sandwich.

Violet grabbed a yogurt from the refrigerator and a spoon from the drawer. "Your sisters are outside," Beck told her. "Why don't you take the dog outside to play with them?"

"The dog likes mom better than the rest of us."

"Just thank your lucky stars she likes the thing," Beck told her, kissing her forehead before putting his sandwich on a plate and going to the back deck to watch whatever game Coral and Scarlet were playing. Violet sighed, removed the lid from her yogurt and throwing it away before following her dad.


	4. Panic

Panic

Lily was twelve when she had her first full-blown panic attack. They were having dinner at Jade's house - and it was for Freddie's birthday so the crowd was much larger than usual. Ella and Bryan, Marissa Benson, Carly and Sam, Spencer Shay, Gibby and Guppy, and several teachers he worked with. Lily had been hugged and exclaimed over more times that she cared to count - and she had finally found cover in the corner of the living room behind the piano, hidden behind the drapes. Violet had seen her disappear, but her cousin was unlikely to tell on her. They knew many of one another's secrets - and Violet knew the extent of Lily's social fear. The noise from the dining room, kitchen, living room, and family room was deafening. It garbled in Lily's ears, making her feel hot and dizzy. Her mother's voice broke through the haze. It was time to eat - and they were looking for her.

Lily couldn't do it - she couldn't sit at the table with all of these people and eat her food and pretend that it wasn't too much of everything. Too many people, too much chaos, too much talking, too much noise.

"Lily?" Tori called. "Lily, it's time to eat." Lily knew the path she was going to take. Tori looked in the music room, the living room, the bathroom. Freddie realized something was amiss and joined her. She heard them run up the stairs. They would check Violet's room - Coral's room - Cat's room - the guest rooms. While her mother and father were panicking and trying to find her, Lily was watching her vision swim in front of her. She heard steps approaching her and saw familiar black heels - each had a lacy black bow - before everything went dark.

It was Jade who had found Lily. She called for Tori, then screamed for Beck when the child slumped over in her hiding place, unconscious. Beck reached her almost immediately, as did Byron and Spencer. Because of the way in which she'd wedged herself behind the piano, Byron and Spencer had to slide it away from the wall so that Beck could step in and lift Lily out. Tori and Freddie had run back down the stairs and reached the living room as Beck was carrying their daughter to the sofa.

"Everyone but Tori, Freddie, and Sam - out of this room," Jade ordered bossily. Cat and Violet were particularly indignant, but Ella soothed them and led them back toward the kitchen. Sam walked over to the sofa and knelt next to Tori, taking Lily's pulse. Carly had run to the car and returned quickly with Sam's bag, handing it to the blonde. Lily started to come around as Sam listened to her heart and took her blood pressure.

"Sleeping Beauty is waking up," Sam said with a small smile. Under her fingertips, she felt Lily's heart start to race as her eyes fluttered open. "Hey, kid-o, what happened?"

Lily started to say something but it came out mostly as a stammer and then she was out again. Sam did her vitals one more time and then stood. "I'm sure it was just a panic attack – but we should get her to the hospital to be sure." She looked at Freddie. "Get her in the car and follow me – I'll call ahead so she can be admitted right away."

Tori was silent, her eyes glassy as she became overwhelmed by the events. She felt Jade at her elbow. "You need to snap out of it," her friend told her softly. "Lily needs you. Stay calm – she's going to be fine. You heard Sam – it's just a precaution." In the end, Tori popped two Klonopin in her mouth and allowed them to dissolve as she sat in the back of the car, her daughter's head in her lap.

"It was a panic attack," Sam told them almost three hours later, walking into the small room where Tori, Freddie, Jade, and Beck were waiting impatiently. She had her white coat on over her party dress and Freddie had to admit - although he didn't often think of Sam as a full-fledged adult - she was solid when things got rough. Tori didn't seem at all helped by her diagnosis. She let her face fall to her hands and she cried. Jade had a hand on her shoulder, Freddie another on her knee. No one knew what to say.

"Are you sure?" Tori asked finally. "Nothing else is wrong?"

"I had them do an EEG - it's a sonogram of the heart. There's nothing wrong with her heart - her blood tests came back clean - nothing wrong with the liver or kidneys. Her pulse and heart rate and blood pressure - those are all high. But with no physical cause. We've ruled out the other possibilities - we're left with the original assumption. And the one most likely. She panicked - didn't have enough oxygen - and fainted."

Tori nodded, closing her eyes. "Can we take her home?"

Sam grimaced. "She's under some pretty powerful sedatives. I'd recommend keeping her for observation until morning." She paused, clearly trying to decide what she was going to say. "And I would like to talk to Kate about medications."

The next morning, Tori was wide awake when Lily began to open her eyes. Freddie had just left to find them palatable coffee. "Hi, sweetie," she said softly.

"Hi," Lily responded, her eyes darting around the room, looking at her surroundings. Tori heard one of the monitors begin to beep more incessantly.

"Lily, look at me. Everything is okay. You're alright. We're going home really soon. Okay?" The monitor was still beeping - probably sixty seconds had elapsed - and Sam walked into the room, her white coat shed. She turned off the monitor that was making all of the noise and sat on the edge of the bed, facing Lily.

"Hey, Kid," Sam said happily. Lily tried to smile, but her eyes gave away her complete fear. "We're going to get you out of here as soon as we can. Probably after they serve breakfast." She made a face. " Which is kind of gross - so you'll probably just want to eat again at home." That worked - Lily smiled.

"Can we ask your mom to wait outside for a few minutes?" Lily looked at Tori for a minute and nodded. Tori didn't want to leave - but at this point, the choice had been taken away from her - she kissed Lily's forehead and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"We need to talk about what happened last night," Sam told her. "You scared everyone pretty good - we don't want that to happen again. Alright?" Lily nodded.

"Before you fainted - were you afraid of something? Even if you didn't know what it was?"

"It was everything," Lily said softly. Sam waited patiently - she hadn't counted on the pre-teen being willing to talk. Lily was usually extremely quiet. But after a few minutes of silence, she continued. "There were too many people - and too much noise. And I didn't feel good."

"I get it," Sam agreed. "People can be downright annoying - especially when they come in big groups. Did you feel dizzy or lightheaded?" Lily nodded. "Sick to your stomach?" Another nod. "Sweaty or hot?" And another. "Did you have a hard time breathing?" And another.

"Anything else?"

"All the noise," Lily answered. "The talking didn't make sense and it was all buzzing in my ears - and I couldn't see anything. And my heart hurt."

Sam nodded. "Alright. That pretty much sucks, huh?" Lily agreed wholeheartedly. "How many times has that happened before?" Lily looked at her in surprise. Sam's expression softened even more. "These things don't just start out of nowhere, sweet pea - they get bigger and bigger until we do something to take care of them. How many times?"

"I don't know," Lily answered honestly. Her voice broke, defeated. "But it was never that bad before."

"I know," Sam answered softly. "We'll figure this out. But you have to speak up if something is wrong. When you were uncomfortable at the party, what would have happened if you would have told your mom?"

"She would have taken me home," Lily answered.

"And would she have been angry?"

"No."

"Then why not tell her?"

"It was Dad's birthday." Her face fell as she realized what had happened. "I didn't want to ruin it - but I ruined it anyway."

"Lily, you didn't ruin anything," Sam insisted. "Look at me." Blue eyes turned to meet brown ones. Lily's were filled with tears. Sam's voice was firm and she reached over to hold the young girls' hand. "You did not ruin anything. Freddie's best present yesterday was finding out that you were okay. He's not angry - no one is angry. Everyone is just happy that you're not hurt. Do you understand me?" Lily nodded, but her eyes were still brimming with tears. Sam called for Tori. Literally - she bellowed. Tori walked back into the room and sat on Lily's other side. Freddie was right behind her, carrying coffee that he set on the window seat. He kissed Lily's forehead and gave her a quick hug before standing beside the bed, waiting for his old friend to speak.

"Everything okay?" Tori asked, looking up at Sam.

"It is," Sam told her. "Lily has a pretty unpleasant panic disorder -but we're going to do everything we can to fix that. I just told her that when she's not feeling well - when something is upsetting - she needs to tell you right away." Tori nodded. "I'm going to see if I can talk to Dr. Kate. If I can, I'll get you a prescription to start with before you leave. Otherwise, you're going to have to see her as soon as you can."

Lily's panic attacks improved after that climactic day. Tori and Freddie watched more carefully for signs that she was overwhelmed and helped her learn when to ask for help. She visited more often with her psychiatrist and worked on methods to calm herself down when things became too much. She did start taking anxiety medication – something that broke Tori's heart. But after several cocktails, they found one that worked without affecting her personality. It was hard for her mother to stomach because she knew all too well how painful it was to live with panic attacks - but it made her more determined and well situated to help her child.

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This wasn't fluffy - bit it was a moment that I always knew was going to happen, but didn't quite fit in with the stories. Thanks for reading! Please review and let me know your thoughts. What did you like? Not like? Questions or other thoughts?


	5. Curfew

Curfew

Was Violet the only college freshman with a curfew? Probably. She was also a college freshman not yet eligible for a driver's license. Lily, who had actually been eighteen when she'd begun taking classes at UCLA, drove them both to and from classes. Their schedules barely overlapped, leaving each girl with excess time on campus to do homework, study, or – in Violet's case, explore and make mischief.

It was during one of those mischievous times of wandering the campus that she met a boy. The first boy who wasn't a childhood friend. The first boy who didn't know who her parents were. As long as "Beck" wasn't paired with it, "Oliver" wasn't a very unusual or noticeable name. Violet adored the anonymity that college offered.

Brandon was a nice boy – she thought her parents might approve. Well, her mother would approve. Her father would fall into a fit of semi-words that sounded like he was going to have a stroke. Jade was more practical – she didn't hold Violet on some pedestal. But – Violet wasn't ready to share yet. She had spent her entire life doing exactly what she was supposed to do – even when it bored her to tears or went against what she wanted. But now was her time - and she wanted Brandon to herself.

Well, mostly to herself. She invited him to lunch and introduced him to a flush and blushing Lily. "Brandon, this is my cousin Lily. Lily, this is Brandon. He's having lunch with us today." Lily nodded, barely looking up from her tray.

A normal college boy might have commented on good genes running in the family or something that even bordered on crude. Brandon saw Lily's embarrassment at even being introduced and decided he wouldn't comment on the fact that she was, indeed, as beautiful as Violet. "It's great to meet you," he said instead. "Violet tells me you're a music composition major." Lily nodded. "That's pretty cool. I wish I could create stuff like that."

"Lily's awesome at it," Violet agreed. "Hey, B – why don't you go get in line – I'll catch up with you in a few minutes." She sat down next to her cousin. "Come on, Lil. He's nice – he's not going to do anything but sit and eat with us."

"You should have asked me first," Lily said, her voice as close to angry as it ever drew.

"You would have said no," Violet answered. "Or worse – you would have said yes an then disappeared before we got here." She leaned closer to her cousin and best friend. "Please, Lily? I want you to like him. And I want him to know you. You're amazing, even if you choose not to believe that."

"Fine," Lily said begrudgingly, after a few moments of sulking.

"Thank you," Violet said with a bright smile. She leaned over and kissed Lily's cheek before leaving the table to go and buy her lunch.

Despite her fears, once she stopped panicking, Lily did like Brandon. He was nice and considerate. He was a business major and someday he wanted to take over his father's line of accounting and finance firms. He and Violet had met during an honors section of a basic accounting class – one that was part of the core curriculum.

Brandon had no idea who they were. He probably knew who Tori, Jade, and Beck were – everyone did. But he had no idea that they – Violet and Lily – were the progeny of Hollywood royalty. He continued having lunch with them for several weeks before he started asking Violet on dates. The lies – or omissions of the truth – were becoming a slippery slope and Lily saw it all too well. Violet was in denial.

"You can't keep him a secret from you parents," Lily scolded one day on the drive home. And you can't keep your parents a secret from him."

"I want something normal," Violet argued. "A date with a boy who doesn't worry that paparazzi are around every corner. One who isn't afraid of my parents before he meets them." Lily was silent; she had no answer for that. She personally had only been on two dates in her life and they had both been disasters.

Three weeks later, Lily had no idea what to do. Violet was supposed to meet her back at the library at eleven thirty, giving them enough time to get home before midnight. Midnight was pushing things but they had both claimed copious amounts of work, so they had been allowed. Right now, it was eleven forty and she not only hadn't seen Violet, she couldn't get in touch with her. Her phone went directly to voice mail each time. Lily paced the study room for another ten minutes before calling her mother.

"Mom?"

"Hey, Lil," Tori said tiredly. "Are you almost home?" She hoped so – she wanted o go to bed but never did so until Lily was home.

"I'm still at the library," she said softly.

"Did you lose track of time?"

"Not exactly."

"What's wrong? What are you trying to tell me?"

"I don't know where Violet is." In the next two minutes, she had spilled all of their secrets, including Violet's frequent outings that occurred while her parents thought she was at the library with Lily. Tori took it all in and – to her credit – remained calm. Lily was in tears. "She's never late."

Tori was angry at Lily for lying, but she also knew her daughter was currently punishing herself enough for all of them. "Sweetie, I'm sure she just lost track of time. But we'll find her. Stay where you are – we'll be there soon. I love you."

It took twenty minutes for Tori to drive an irate Jade to the library where they found Lily waiting for them near the front entrance, her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes red. "Have you heard from her?" Jade's words came out gruff and forceful. She was visibly angry – but mostly terrified.

Lily shook her head and Jade bit her bottom lip. She met Lily's eyes. "Do you know who she was with?" A nod. "Who?"

"His name is Brandon," she said softly.

"Do you know what their plans were for tonight?" Jade asked.

Lily shook her head. "She usually tells me but we didn't have lunch together today. I had an exam that ran late."

"Does Brandon live on campus?" Lily nodded.

"I'm not sure where though."

"Last name?"

"Rodgers."

Jade searched on her phone and called campus security. Before three minutes had passed, two officers were standing with them. They listened to her story, but both looked doubtful as to what they could do about it.

"Ma'am, kids are out past midnight all the time. This is a college campus."

"My daughter is sixteen," Jade seethed. "So, you can help me find this Brandon Rodgers – or I'll call the real police and have him arrested." She paused, batting her eyelashes at them. "Unless that's the kind of publicity the university is looking for."

The two officers exchanged expressions, then the older man looked back at Jade. "Mrs. Oliver, let's do this – we'll go over to Mr. Rodger's dorm and we'll look for your daughter."

"Thank you," Jade said angrily. She, Tori, and Lily followed them across campus and stopped in front of one of the freshman dorms.

"Maybe you should wait out here," the younger officer said.

"Not going to happen," Jade informed him. She followed the two officers, leaving Lily and Tori outside. The officer knocked on the door and a sleepy-eyed boy with messy hair answered. He was in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a gray t-shirt.

"Everything okay?" He asked, stifling a yawn.

"Are you Brandon?"

"That's my roommate," he answered. "I'm Eric. Is he alright?"

"For now, probably," Jade hissed. "Where is he?" The college student did a double take at her attitude and took a tentative step back.

"I'm pretty sure he went to a party at one of the frats – "

"Which one?" Jade asked, feeling as though her skin was on fire. She was ready to reach across the threshold and put her hands around this boy's neck. Talking to him was like pulling teeth.

"Not sure," he admitted. He then looked up, as though considering something. "Wait, let me check something," he said. He turned back into the room and they could seem him rummaging through a book bag. He came up with a piece of copy paper in a lime green color. It was wrinkled. He smoothed it out on his desk and carried it back to them. He handed it to the security officer. "This was the party. We were together – we both got invited. I've been slammed with finals – decided not to go."

"Thank you, son," the officer answered. "Come on, Mrs. Oliver – we'll check this out."

?

Jade stealthily slid in beside her daughter and caught the tail end of the conversation. Or, it was about to be the tail end. "Stats is the worst class ever," the boy complained.

"Yeah, I heard it can be a real bitch," Jade said, her expression sour. Violet spun her head toward the familiar voice.

"Mom!" Her eyes were wide.

"Violet!"

"You're embarrassing me."

"You're causing me a heart-attack. I win. We're leaving." She took Violet's wrist and pulled her toward the door, removing from her daughter's grasp the red cup of alcohol before they exited. Violet was blushing bright red. Once they were outside, the cool air hit and she turned toward her mother, wrenching her hand away.

"Mom! How could you do that? That's so embarrassing! It's hard enough making friends when I'm three years younger than everyone else!"

Jade's eyes burned with fury. "How could I do that? Violet, I have never in my life doubted a word you've said. Now I find out that you've been lying for months – and getting Lily to help you with it. How can I trust you? How am I supposed to know that you're safe when you're lying about where you are and who you're with?" This disappointment – this fear – that Violet heard in her mother's voice was so much worse than the anger she had been expecting.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I'm just trying to fit in. I'm tired of being stared at and looked at as different. I just want to be a normal college freshman."

"For right now you are a grounded college freshman," Jade told her with another glare.

Before she could order her daughter into the car, someone came out of the building calling her name. They both turned to look at Brandon. Instead of walking directly to Violet, he walked closer to Jade – not close enough to be in reach – but close enough to speak.

"Mrs. Oliver, I'm really sorry. I didn't know that Violet didn't have permission to be out tonight."

Jade studied him for a moment and decided he was telling the truth. Her eyes widened a bit so she wasn't outright glaring at him. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," he answered.

"Major?"

"Business – Finance and Accounting."

"Where are you from?"

"Pasadena."

Jade continued studying and looked between him and Violet. "I take it you're still interested in dating me daughter?"

"It it's alright with you, ma'am, I would like that very much."

"Once Violet is done being grounded, you can come over for dinner and we'll discuss the rules."

"Mom," Violet hissed. Jade rolled her eyes at her daughter and walked toward the card. She turned back to look at them.

"You have two minutes to say goodbye," Jade told them. "Speaking only," she added. Violet groaned, but she did step closer to Brandon.

"I'm so sorry," Violet told him. "I should have told you I wasn't quite 16."

"Yeah," Brandon agreed. "And the fact that your mother is Jade West – making your dad Beck Oliver?" Violet nodded miserably. "Why did you lie?"

"I wanted you to like me for me, not for them," she responded. "I'm sorry."

"We can talk about it later," he promised. He reached over and squeezed her hand quickly, knowing that any other form of contact was going to result in him being yelled at or possibly run over. "Good luck," he said, nodding toward the vehicle.

"Thanks," Violet responded. She turned away from him and walked toward the car. Jade was standing beside it and as Violet walked past her to get into the car, Jade caught her up in a desperate hug. "Don't ever make me worry about you like that again," she said severely. The sound in her voice was pain, not anger. It brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm sorry, mama." Jade released her and stood facing away from the car for several minutes, calming herself so that her own tears wouldn't come. When she slid into the passenger's side of the car, she found the other three women silent. She nodded slightly at Tori, who began the drive home. Not one said a word. The only sounds were the occasional sniffles from Lily and Violet.

Tori and Lily walked into the house to find Freddie waiting for them, watching reruns of an old sitcom. As soon as he looked at them, Lily broke into tears again. Tori put her arms around her daughter. "Don't cry," she said softly. "Go get ready for bed – we'll talk about this in the morning." Freddie stood and hugged her before she left the room.

"Glad you're both okay, Lily bee." She smiled slightly at the silly nickname that he'd been using for years, but the smile didn't actually reach her eyes.

Violet was having less luck when it came to the calm parent department. Beck was actually angrier than Jade, which was saying a lot. Violet sat on a chair in the living room, watching as he paced the room, his face growing impossibly redder with each step.

"Mom," Violet said quietly to Jade, who was angry, but at least less homicidal looking. Jade was standing between Beck and Violet, trying to speak with her husband and calm him.

"Shut it," Jade hissed, barely turning her head to give the order. Violet sank back into the chair, hugging on of the throw pillows to her stomach. "Beck, calm down."

"How can I calm down? Our 15 year old daughter was at a college party – drinking – and she lied to us." Jade put her hand on his shoulder. She could feel him shaking; he had been terrified all the while she'd been searching. He had been home, waiting for more bad news. They knew what it was like for someone you love to simply disappear. Not knowing where Violet was – not knowing that she was safe. These were not optional nuggets of knowledge to her parents. They were necessities.

Jade turned to her daughter. "Violet – go upstairs – go to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning."

"But mom – "

"Now," Jade said calmly. Once Violet was gone, Jade pulled her husband to the sofa and urged him to sit. She climbed into his lap and hugged him. "Beck, it's okay now. She's safe."

"How could she do that? Just lie and go somewhere else?"

"She's a fifteen year old girl who grew up too fast," Jade told him softly. "She's surrounded by college kids – she wants to fit in. She made a mistake." Her hand caressed the side of his face and redirected his gaze so that their eyes met. "It was a mistake," she repeated. "She's not perfect."

"She's never done anything bad before."

Jade laughed, surprising him. "Beck, this isn't bad. Bad would be getting a call from the police telling us they have our daughter in lock up because she was drinking – or having her come home drunk – and tattooed. Or – "

"I get it," Beck answered, stopping her train of thought before it frightened him anymore. "It could be worse. But she's never lied to us before."

"I know," Jade said softly. "But think about it – you were a good kid with good parents. Can you really tell me that you never lied to them?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I did. If telling the truth was going to get me in to trouble."

"That's all that Violet did. It was wrong – and there will be consequences – but we are not going to lose 15 years of good parenting because we're angry. No yelling. We'll talk tomorrow when we've had time to think."

Beck hugged her tightly. "I'm going downstairs for a while," he told her. She nodded, knowing that he was either going to take apart an unsuspecting car, or lift weights until he was too tired to be angry.

"Love you," she said, holding his hand until the last second, when they broke apart from distance.

"Love you too," he responded. "I'll be up soon."

Jade knocked lightly on Violet's door and entered when she was permitted. The teen had showered and was in her pajamas, curled into bed. Jade lay next to her. "Why did you lie, Violet?"

"I just wanted something for myself," she answered. "And I didn't want him to know who you were – and I knew you would insist on meeting him."

"Are we really that bad?"

"No," Violet muttered. "It's not that – it's just that I want him to like me because of who I am, not because he's excited about who my parents are."

"How long have you been dating?"

"About six weeks," Violet answered. "Mostly just hanging out between classes and having llunch with Lily."

"Six weeks? This is about you, my love – not your family. You've got him hooked." She kissed her daughter's cheek. "Never scare me like that again."

Both girls were grounded for two weeks. Lily's car was taken away and they were driven to school – to college – by one of their parents. Violet was on strict orders not to do anything between classes but study. She obeyed – staying away from Brandon for the entire two weeks. Violet almost feared the end of the two weeks – because her mother was dead serious about having Brandon over for dinner. Sunday dinner. And no 18 year old was ready for that, no matter how much he liked a girl.

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you thought. Any favorite parts? Any lingering questions or things you would have liked to have seen?

Also – if you haven't seen it yet, I began a new story (Childhood is the Kingdom) – please stop over to check it out – and leave a review! Thanks!


	6. The Dinner

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for reading. Most of these have been one-shots - but I decided to follow up the last story with this one - and they pertain to one another. hope you like it.

* * *

Story Six - The Dinner

Jade knocked lightly on the open bedroom door and waited for Violet to look up. She entered, closing the door behind her and perching on the bed next to her eldest daughter. "What are you doing up here?"

Violet held up a book – Plato's _The Republic_. "That looks hideous," Jade commented. The teen nodded in agreement.

"It's not good."

"Violet, we need to talk." The younger girl looked up again from her book and set it aside but her expression was one of reluctance.

"We talked a lot yesterday," she said, her voice straining as she tried to hide her frustration.

"No," Jade said, shaking her head. "Your dad and I talked and you nodded a lot. Good form – but I'm not sure how much of it you actually heard."

"I heard everything. I shouldn't lie, I'm too young to go to college parties, and you're disappointed in me." Violet detailed the highlights quickly.

"We're disappointed you lied," Jade responded. "Not disappointed in you. There's a big difference. We couldn't be prouder of you, Vi. There's just a lot that you're not ready for – you've been so far ahead of the game your entire life – but there are some things that you can't jump into early. Or at least you shouldn't."

"I know," Violet answered glumly. "Why are we talking about this again? I apologized – and I really don't want to talk about it."

"I do," Jade responded pointedly. Her voice softened. "Tell me about Brandon." She sat back against the headboard and pulled a pillow into her lap and got comfortable. Violet looked at her hesitantly and Jade raised her eyebrows, clearly waiting.

"We have stats and philosophy together," she said, beginning generically. "He's in the honors college too. He eats lunch with Lily and me a few times a week. He's nice, mom. I like him."

"Why do you like him?" Jade asked.

"I don't want to talk about this with you," she objected uncomfortably.

"You know, once upon a time, I liked boys. Well, a boy. Your dad was really the only one I ever paid attention to – but we were young once."

"You're not that old," Violet muttered.

"Thanks for noticing," Jade responded with a smug smile. Her face became serious again and she made a quickening gesture with her finger. "Now, continue."

Violet sighed and gathered her thoughts. "I like him because he's nice – and he's funny. But not the kind of funny where he puts down other people – the smart kind of funny. And he's intelligent, which is nice."

"As intelligent as you are?" Jade asked, curiously.

Violet stifled a laugh. "No. But he works hard to make up for it – he's normal smart. Not creepy smart."

"You are not creepy smart."

"I don't feel like it when I talk to Brandon."

"That's a good thing," Jade agreed. She knew that from a young age, even though she worked to fight against it, Violet's mind had made her feel isolated from her own peers. "What else?" They talked for a good half an hour. As she spilled more secrets that she'd been keeping, Violet detailed how they had met, how Brandon had approached her, and their meetings ever since. He did seem like a nice, smart, funny boy – if he was everything Violet described him to be.

It was quiet for several moments. Violet was done speaking and simply waiting for her mother. She knew the older woman had other questions. "Have you slept with him?"

"Mom!" She cried. Her cheeks turned a violent shade of red.

"It's a fair question – I don't know where you've been all of these evenings when you said that you were studying with Lily."

"I'm not ready for that," Violet mumbled. Jade jumped for relief inside but kept it to herself – she didn't want Violet thinking that she needed to keep it a secret when it did happen.

"Has he tried to push you into doing anything you don't want to do?"

"No," Violet answered, almost angry now. "He's not like that mom. He's respectful. And he's never – done that either." Jade smiled lightly. She dropped a kiss on the top of her dark, loose curls and put her arms around her eldest daughter. Violet was grumpy from the inquisition, but she soon relaxed into her mother's arms and calmed down.

"Vi?"

"Hm?"

"Just a baseline rule – if you can't say it – you're not ready for it."

"I know I'm not ready, mom."

"When you are ready, you know you can talk to me, right?" Violet nodded, then realized Jade couldn't see her and gave a quiet yes. Eventually, Jade kissed her again and left her alone, giving the teen much-desired breathing room. It had been an uncomfortable conversation, but Jade left feeling as though she had a handle on the situation – she knew that Violet was not sexually active – and she could worry about the rest as it came.

Almost two weeks later, Violet and Lily were no longer grounded and the dreaded family dinner had arrived. "Did you really have to invite everyone?" Violet asked as she set the dining room table. Jade was handing her piece by piece a set of bone china, rimmed in platinum and decorated in dainty violets, which Beck had brought down from the attic that morning.

"It's a normal Sunday dinner. Everyone is always invited," Jade told her. She left out the fact that when Andre, Carly, Sam, and Gibby had discovered that Violet was bringing a friend, they wouldn't have missed dinner for the world. "That setting is crooked," she added, nodding to the one Violet had just finished. The teenager sighed and fixed it before moving on to the next place. It was going to be a full evening. Their entire family, the Benson-Vega household, Andre, his wife Ivy, Carly, Sam, and Gibby. Violet was wondering if it might just be easier to break up with Brandon and call it a day.

She was seriously considering that course of action when Lily appeared next to her and began taking plates from Jade, setting the opposite side of the table. Her calming presence rubbed off slightly on her cousin, enough that Violet didn't feel the need to run or explode. They worked silently until the table was finished. Tori walked in and finished it off with a long, low centerpiece dominated be lilies and violets.

"Cute, mom," Lily told her.

"I thought so," Tori answered with a wink. She smiled brightly at Jade, who she thought looked like a cat about to catch a bird. 'Jade – do you need any help with dinner?"

"No," she answered. "Almost done. But can you check on the girls? Beck is supposed to be cleaning them up for dinner – but Coral was pretty dead-set against changing out of her beloved converses. " Tori chuckled, smiled again, and left the dining room.

Jade took one last look at the table and then at the two girls. Violet was wearing a flattering sweater dress in dark purple, her accessories and makeup conservative. Jade knew she was on her best behavior for Beck's sake. Lily wore a light blue sweater and black skirt, her beauty unadorned by makeup. She fussed around the table, fixing things that were perfectly fine, until Jade asked her to find Cat and make sure she was ready for dinner. When Lily left to seek out their eccentric and lovable aunt, Violet followed her mother into the kitchen. She stood at Jade's elbow as the older woman finished the salad.

"Mom, I really like him," she said softly.

"I know, Vi." She offered a smile that appeared far too mischievous for her daughter's liking. "I'll be on my best behavior." Violet doubted that – but she still wasn't particularly worried about her mother. She knew Jade was not nearly as difficult as her reputation made her out to be.

"Can you ask Dad to be nice? Please? He's not a bad guy. I was the one who lied to you guys – he didn't have any idea that I didn't have permission to be there."

"Your dad will behave," Jade promised. "Don't worry. Try to relax."

Relaxing was not in the cards that evening – Violet was miserable. She was pacing the living room waiting for Brandon when he arrived. She saw through the peep hole that he was carrying flowers and let herself outside, taking them from him. "These are for my mom?" He nodded.

"That's nice," Violet answered. She took his wrist and dragged him into the side yard where she proceeded to yank all of the daisies out of the arrangement.

"She doesn't like Daisies?"

"Nope," Violet answered. She fixed the bouquet, retied the ribbon, and handed it back to him. "And just – if she gets really quiet or she glares, stop talking. And try not to make eye contact with my dad."

"Your family isn't like the mafia or something, right?" Brandon asked.

Violet turned and shook her head. "Worse. They're in show business." As if on cue, lively piano music began in the living room. She groaned. She took his hand and pulled him into the room. Andre had arrived – she was assuming that he'd come through the kitchen – and was playing the grand piano. Max sat next to him, looking adorable, watching in awe.

"Hey, Vi," Andre said happily, smiling in her direction.

"Hey, Uncle Andre," she said with a smile. She pulled Brandon in his direction. "This is Brandon – Brandon, This is Andre – "

"Harris," Brandon finished for her, reaching out his hand and smiling excitedly. "I love your music. It's great to meet you."

Andrew laughed and shook his hand. "It's always good to meet a fan. Do you play?"

Brandon shook his head. "No – I quit the piano when I was about 10 – I still regret it – but I thought I was too cool for it at the time."

"You have to make it cool," Andre answered, moving off to do some kind of riff that did, they admitted, sound cool. Violet waved her hand toward Max.

"And this is Max. He's Aunt Tori and Uncle Freddie's son."

"Hi!" Max chirped, waving.

"Hey, Max," Brandon answered.

"Do you want to see my Legos?"

"That would be really cool," Brandon agreed. "Legos are awesome. But I don't know if we have time." He looked at Violet who shook her head.

"Not before dinner, Max. Maybe later." The five-year-old looked pacified and returned to watching Andre's fingers dance across the keys. Violet decided to bite the bullet and pull Brandon directly into the fire. She headed into the kitchen where her mother was finishing up the meal preparations with Tori's help while Ivy, Carly, and Sam watched on with full glasses of wine. Cat was searching for something in the refrigerator, only her blue heels and the frill of her purple skirt visible at first.

Violet swept her arm across the kitchen. "Brandon, this is the female part of my family – most of them at least." Cat pulled her head out of the refrigerator, closed the door, and giggled happily. "This is my aunt Cat," she said, gesturing as the redhead took a few steps toward them. Brandon stuck out his hand and Cat ignored it, hugging him.

"Hi, Brandon. It's nice to meet you."

"You too, Ms. Valentine."

Cat giggled but then turned serious. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she chirped. She returned to the refrigerator and Violet pointed to Carly and Sam, who were closest. "This is Aunt Carly and Aunt Sam." They both waved and smiled. Brandon did the same. Violet continued quickly. "This is Uncle Andre's wife Ivy. That's Aunt Tori with the heavy pot," she added. Tori looked up just long enough to smile before returning to her task of moving meatballs from the pot into a huge bowl that matched the china.

"You've met my mom," she said, gesturing to Jade, who was moving pasta into a gigantic bowl of its own.

"Nice to see you again, Mrs. Oliver. I'm so sorry – "

"You don't have to apologize again, Brandon," she told him. "And you can call me Jade."

"Thank you for having me."

"You're welcome," she told him with a softening smile. He remembered the flowers he'd brought and handed them to her and she thanked him, moving across the kitchen to put them into a vase. He saw Lily then, coming down the stairs with two younger girls at her heels.

"Hi Brandon," she greeted.

"Hey, Lily. And this must be Coral and Scarlet – I've heard a lot about you," he said. "Nice to meet you." Both girls greeted him, Scarlet much more shyly than her sister.

Beck and Freddie didn't appear until Jade was calling them to sit at the table. Violet hoped that meant that her much calmer and more reasonable uncle had been talking sense into her father.

"Hello, Sir," Brandon said politely, holding out his hand.

"Definitely don't call me sir," Beck told him, shaking his hand. Violet could see that he was probably being too rough, but Brandon didn't make a sound or noise in complaint.

"Dad," Violet hissed. Beck let go of the younger man's hand.

"Sorry, Mr. Oliver," he corrected.

Beck shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that will have to do." Before he could say anymore, Jade appeared and sat to his left side. Beck sat and Violet pulled Brandon toward the middle of the table for their own seats. Tori began passing the bread and before she knew what was happening, a normal and hectic family dinner had begun.

Some of her favorite people were on their best behavior – Carly and Tori tried to smooth over anything that was abrupt or overbearing. But other – such as Andre, Beck, and surprisingly Freddie – were going out of their way to ask Brandon 201 uncomfortable questions. Violet barely touched her food as she tried to intercept questions that she felt were too personal or awkward, but Brandon easily meshed with her family and was soon engaged in conversation with Freddie and Gibby about the Brothers G restaurant – which was about to become a chain – and the type of accounting software would be most beneficial for them to use. It bored Violet silly, but at least it didn't give her father or Andre room to ask any questions that might embarrass her. Sam could also usually be counted on to be a loose cannon, but she was quiet that night.

After dinner, Max asked again if Brandon wanted to see his Legos, so the three of them tromped through the yard to his house and up the stairs to his bedroom. Violet had seen the collection many times before and it was enviable. Max's cheeks flushed with pink from excitement as he told Brandon about everything he had built. Violet sat on the bed while her boyfriend followed Max around the room, giving appropriate reverence and compliments to the villages, trains, airplanes, and other pieces he had built. Freddie had built a train track that traversed the walls at Max's eyes level and had hung each airplane from the ceiling after helping his son to build it. The room itself was a masterpiece, as far as Violet was concerned. Brandon seemed to agree. He sat on the floor and helped Max work on the replica of Hogwarts that he was currently building.

Violet didn't know how much time had passed until she saw her mother and aunt in the doorway, watching. "Max, it's getting late," Tori told him gently. "It's almost time to get ready for bed – it's time for Brandon to go home."

"Mom – he figured out the tower. I was missing this piece," Max said, holding another similar piece for tori to see."

"That's awesome," Tori agreed. "But it's still time to say goodnight, okay?" She stepped into the room, avoiding dozens of Lego vehicles and buildings, and stood beside her son, ruffling his hair. Max said nothing – Violet could see he was disappointed.

"I'll come back another time, okay buddy?" Max looked up hopefully at his mom.

"Sounds good to me," Tori replied. "Say goodnight."

"Goodnight Brandon. Thanks for helping me with my Legos!"

"Thanks for inviting me, Max. Good night." He stood and looked over at Violet, who got up from the place where she was now lounging on Max's bed. She stopped and kissed Max on the cheek and hugged her aunt.

"Good night," she said softly.

"Good night, Vi," Tori said, hugging her back. She looked over at the teenaged boy. "It was nice to meet you, Brandon."

"You too," he said politely. He followed Violet down the stairs and out into the backyard. Jade followed not far behind. When they entered the kitchen, Violet realized it was empty. She turned to her mother.

"Everyone went home?"

Jade smiled. "It's almost nine," she told her. "Most people have to work in the morning. Tori gave Max some leeway on his bedtime." Jade gave Brandon a plastic contain full of leftovers and one with dessert. "It was nice to meet you, Brandon."

"You too, M – " he stopped himself. "Jade," he finished. She smiled and turned to her daughter. "I'll see you upstairs."

Violet walked Brandon to the front door. "Thanks for coming. I'm sorry if my family came on too strong – "

"They were great," Brandon told her. "I mean, your dad is terrifying, but I think I would be too if I had three daughters. So, I get it."

"I am not grounded anymore," Violet reminded him as they stood in front of the door.

"Then I'll see you for lunch tomorrow?" She nodded. He leaned down and kissed her – on the lips, but chastely. She was disappointed and tried to deepen it but he pulled away and chuckled.

"I'd like to see you tomorrow – and that won't happen if your dad kills me."

Violet sighed. "Fine," she answered. "Good night."

"Good night," he answered, kissing her one more time. She watched him reach his car and then closed and locked the front door. She turned around to find Beck standing in the living room entryway.

"We didn't do anything wrong," she told him testily.

"I know," he responded, his voice empty of the hard edge it had carried all night. "He seems like a decent guy. I'm sorry – this is hard for me, Violet."

"You had to know that eventually I would start dating," he said, leaning against railing at the bottom of the staircase.

"I don't have to love it," Beck responded. He sighed. "But if you're honest with me and your mom – I'll try harder to accept it."

"Thanks daddy." She hugged him and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. She disappeared up the stairs and Beck closed up the main floor, setting the alarm and grabbing a glass of water before going to his bedroom. Jade was ready for bed, curled under the covers reading a book and waiting for him.

"I'm proud of you," she told him several minutes later, as he crawled into bed next to her.

"I hate this," he responded.

"I know you do – but we raised her well – she can handle this."

"You do everything right – and they grow up and leave you. Doesn't that seem a bit backwards?"

"If you let them leave – if you're good to them – they come back," Jade told him softly, kissing his cheek. She curled up against him, her head resting on his chest, her hand over his heart. "Try not to worry too much – she's only sixteen.

* * *

Let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Happy Holidays to you and yours!


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